World Kindness Day 2026 (13 November): 40 Ideas for Work, Home and Online

By The Chief · 2026-11-03 · 6 min read · sources checked

Once a year, on 13 November, people around the world are invited to do something deliberately kind. In 2026, World Kindness Day falls on a Friday.

You do not need a campaign, a budget or a hashtag. You need one person, one moment and the courage to act on a good impulse instead of letting it pass.

What is World Kindness Day?

World Kindness Day was introduced in 1998 by the World Kindness Movement, a coalition of organisations from different countries that promote kindness. It is observed on 13 November each year by schools, workplaces, charities and individuals. In the UK, many schools pair it with Anti-Bullying Week, which follows soon after.

Why small kindnesses matter more than you think

• A meta-analysis of studies on performing acts of kindness found a small-to-medium positive effect on the wellbeing of the person being kind (Curry et al., 2018).
• In experiments by Amit Kumar and Nicholas Epley, people who did something kind (like giving a cup of hot chocolate) consistently underestimated how good the receiver felt, and that underestimation can stop us from being kind more often (Kumar & Epley, 2023).
• People who were asked to spend a small amount of money on others reported feeling happier than those asked to spend it on themselves (Dunn, Aknin & Norton, 2008).
• In research described by Sonja Lyubomirsky and colleagues, people who did five acts of kindness in a single day each week reported a boost in happiness (Lyubomirsky, Sheldon & Schkade, 2005). That makes 13 November a perfect day to try five.

The short version: your kindness lands harder than you think, and it does you good too. Read more in the benefits of kindness.

The five-kindness challenge for 13 November

Try this: five acts of kindness on one day, one from each circle of your life.

1. Someone at home
2. Someone at work or school
3. A neighbour or someone in your community
4. A stranger
5. Someone online

Pick from the ideas below, or let our random act of kindness generator pick one for you.

If kindness for no reason sounds like home, you may have found your tribe: request to join.

40 World Kindness Day ideas

At home

1. Make someone's morning drink exactly how they like it.
2. Do a chore that is usually theirs, without being asked.
3. Leave a handwritten note in a bag or a lunch box.
4. Put your phone away for a whole meal and really listen.
5. Tell a family member one specific thing you admire about them.
6. Call a grandparent or older relative, just to hear their news.
7. Let someone else choose the film, the meal or the music.
8. Apologise for something you have been avoiding.

At work or school

9. Thank a colleague by name for something specific, and copy in their manager.
10. Bring in fruit or snacks for the team.
11. Invite the new person to lunch.
12. Give credit in a meeting to the person who did the work.
13. Write a recommendation on a professional network for someone who deserves it.
14. Offer to help someone who is clearly overloaded.
15. Thank the cleaners, security staff or caretakers by name.
16. Share your notes or knowledge with someone who is struggling.

In your neighbourhood

17. Check on an older or isolated neighbour.
18. Take in someone's bins or sweep their path.
19. Leave a thank-you note for your postal or delivery worker.
20. Donate tins and toiletries to a food bank.
21. Pick up litter on your street for 15 minutes.
22. Return a lost item, or post about it locally.
23. Offer to walk a neighbour's dog or water their plants.
24. Say a proper hello to someone you pass every day but never speak to.

For strangers

25. Pay for the coffee of the person behind you.
26. Give your seat on public transport.
27. Leave a generous tip, with a kind note.
28. Hold the door and smile, really smile.
29. Give directions and walk part of the way.
30. Donate blood, if you are able (check eligibility in your country).
31. Give a sincere compliment about something someone chose (not their body).
32. Leave a book you loved on a bench with a note: "For you, for no reason."

Online

33. Write a five-star review for a small business that served you well.
34. Leave a kind comment for a creator whose work helped you.
35. Message an old friend: "I was thinking of you. How are you really?"
36. Share a local charity's appeal or a job post for someone looking for work.
37. Thank a teacher, mentor or doctor who made a difference years ago.
38. Answer a beginner's question in a forum with patience.
39. Scroll past an argument without adding fuel.
40. Post something encouraging instead of something clever.

Kindness without a spotlight

The most powerful kindness is often quiet. You do not need to film it. In our tribe we have a line in the Tribe Code: we help each other for no reason: no price, no score, no favour expected back. Try at least one of your five kindnesses where no one will ever know it was you.

Keep it going after 13 November

One day of kindness is lovely. A kind week is better. A kind life is the real prize. Here is how to keep it alive:

• Put a weekly kindness in your calendar, like a meeting.
• Keep a kindness list of people who might need a word, a call or a hand.
• Join something that gives: a volunteer crew, a community group, a tribe that practises it daily.
• For 50 more ideas, see random acts of kindness ideas, and for daily habits, how to be a kinder person.

A task for 13 November

Before breakfast, write five names, one for each circle: home, work, neighbourhood, a stranger you will meet, and someone online. By bedtime, do one small kindness for each. Then write one line about the one that surprised you most.

Kindness is not a grand gesture. It is a lantern you carry into ordinary rooms.

If you would like a daily kindness task, and a tribe that lives this way all year: request to join.

Walking beside you,

The Chief

Sources

• World Kindness Movement. worldkindness.org
• Curry, O. S., Rowland, L. A., Van Lissa, C. J., Zlotowitz, S., McAlaney, J., & Whitehouse, H. (2018). Happy to help? A systematic review and meta-analysis of the effects of performing acts of kindness on the well-being of the actor. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 76, 320-329. doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2018.02.014
• Kumar, A., & Epley, N. (2023). A little good goes an unexpectedly long way: Underestimating the positive impact of kindness on recipients. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 152(1), 236-252. doi.org/10.1037/xge0001271
• Dunn, E. W., Aknin, L. B., & Norton, M. I. (2008). Spending money on others promotes happiness. Science, 319(5870), 1687-1688. doi.org/10.1126/science.1150952
• Lyubomirsky, S., Sheldon, K. M., & Schkade, D. (2005). Pursuing happiness: The architecture of sustainable change. Review of General Psychology, 9(2), 111-131. doi.org/10.1037/1089-2680.9.2.111

Related reading: Random acts of kindness ideas · The benefits of kindness · How to be a kinder person

General information for wellbeing, not medical, psychological or financial advice. If you are struggling, see crisis help.